Game Wisdom » Serieshttp://game-wisdom.com Theories on Game DesignTue, 03 Mar 2015 20:51:17 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1Theories on Game DesignGame WisdomnoTheories on Game DesignGame Wisdom » Serieshttp://game-wisdom.com/wp-content/plugins/powerpress/rss_default.jpghttp://game-wisdom.com/category/series Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #1 DKC Tropical Freezehttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-1-dkc-tropical-freeze http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-1-dkc-tropical-freeze#commentsThu, 08 Jan 2015 19:36:39 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11311#1 is another 2D platformer like Shovel Knight but instead of modernizing classic gameplay; the developers went with elevating 2D platforming to one of the most challenging games released this year. All the more impressive considering that this is a Wii-U title. #1 DKC Tropical Freeze DKC Tropical Freeze by Retro Studios marks the third [...]

#1 is another 2D platformer like Shovel Knight but instead of modernizing classic gameplay; the developers went with elevating 2D platforming to one of the most challenging games released this year. All the more impressive considering that this is a Wii-U title.

#1 DKC Tropical Freeze

DKC Tropical Freeze by Retro Studios marks the third Donkey Kong Country game from the studio in the last few years. Nintendo has always been protective of their brands and it takes a lot for them to give the reigns to a different studio and Retro has definitely earned their keep here.

Like Shovel Knight, looking at why Tropical Freeze is such a great game is hard as 2D platformers are all about the gameplay and aren’t exactly the best for screenshot analysis. The level design present here is one of the finest examples of the genre with every level featuring challenging varied gameplay.

Even though Tropical Freeze definitely draws from older DKC titles, the unique touches that Retro adds makes it all their own. Unlike Super Mario 3D World which saved the hard stuff for the end, Tropical Freeze is demanding from the very start. Bonus items and rewards are always set up in the hardest places with the world map teasing hidden areas for you to discover.

Similar to Super Meat Boy, the challenge is figuring out the optimal path through each level and given your limited number of hit points can be difficult. To compensate, an expanded item shop has been added to give you extra lives, avoiding pit deaths and more. The game is so generous with lives that they become a non issue by the time you reach the end of the game.

But the big question is why it is #1 for me in 2014 when we compare it to other titles released. Tropical Freeze isn’t a brand new experience like This War of Mine or full of replayability like Dungeon of the Endless or even tell a great story like Blackwell Epiphany.

Instead, it is #1 by the fact that it is one of the best platformers I’ve played in a long time and the closest another game company has gotten to matching Nintendo’s level design. Each stage of Tropical Freeze features unique challenges tailored to the world and the variety of obstacles that they were able to implement while keeping things consistent is impressive.

Your move set is kept very basic through the game and the developers used that foundation to create some of the most varied levels I’ve seen from the genre. While each world does hold to a theme, the details of their challenges gives them a sense of personality that is usually reserved for the quality of Nintendo’s games.

Like with Nintendo and the Mario games, Retro Studios also has expert challenges hidden with them becoming available if you can beat the game. These special levels are some of the hardest in the game and will test anyone’s platforming ability. Each level is essentially a master level course with no checkpoints and requires the player to have mastered the game in order to stand a chance. And then there are the little touches like the animations of the Kongs, boss fights, music that fits the levels while paying homage to the classic games and more.

If you’re looking for a lesson on good 2D level design, DKC Tropical Freeze is an excellent example and one that definitely deserves more praise than it has gotten so far. And the degree of craftsmanship is what earns it the top spot for me this year. Very few developers are able to get close to that “Nintendo quality” of design and for Retro to nail it so much is amazing.

And with that, my top ten list for 2014 is finally done. 2015 is looking to be an interesting year as a lot of the kickstarted and early access games I’ve played are planning to be released and I can’t wait to see how they do and where they will place for 2015′s list.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-1-dkc-tropical-freeze/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #2 This War of Minehttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-2-this-war-of-mine http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-2-this-war-of-mine#commentsWed, 07 Jan 2015 19:39:06 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11313#2 this year is another example of the creativity that can be seen from the Indie market. Just like my #1 pick for last year, The Swapper, today’s game tells a lot without needing millions of dollars of development and advertising and continues to prove that Indie developers can stand with AAA in terms of quality. [...]

#2 this year is another example of the creativity that can be seen from the Indie market. Just like my #1 pick for last year, The Swapper, today’s game tells a lot without needing millions of dollars of development and advertising and continues to prove that Indie developers can stand with AAA in terms of quality.

#2: This War of Mine

This War of Mine takes place in a country during a civil war between the government and rebel forces that is tearing the country apart. But unlike other military focused games, you’re not fighting to either save or condemn the government, in fact you’re not fighting the war at all. Instead, you play as a group of survivors who are just trying to survive.

Despite the minimal graphics and UI, This War of Mine has an amazing washed out aesthetic that helps to pull you into the destruction of what happens when people go to war. Very few developers are able to create a game with a unifying sense of aesthetics and mechanics and 11 Bit Studios manages to nail it with this. All the more impressive is that I had no idea at first that the developers were the creators of the Anomaly series as this is a huge jump for them in terms of quality and design.

What makes the game so amazing is how it forces you to choose your morality without actively taking a stand or judging you for it. In most games, right and wrong are defined by elementary school understanding of morality and hard coded by the developer. What This War of Mine does so well is that it constantly challenges you to decide between what’s right and what’s “right.”

From a moral standpoint, breaking into someone’s home for food and supplies is wrong and considered theft. But if you’re trying to feed three people and keep them going, is it right to force them to starve? These types of questions highlight the experience and there really isn’t any game that takes the horrors of war and focuses it on the civilians who are trying to survive.

The game is split between day and night operations where during the day you’ll focus on improving your shelter and managing resources and at night you’ll choose an area to go to for scavenging.

While This War of Mine is definitely unique, one popular request from fans is having more randomization in terms of conditions and events put into an endless mode. At the moment the game does end at some point and it would be interesting to see how this would play out over the really long run.

This War of Mine is a great game that stands apart from everything else, but unlike last year it’s not getting the #1 spot from me. And the reason is that my #1 game didn’t go for uniqueness but quality. Delivering one of the most impressive examples of its genre that I’ve seen and you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out what that game was.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-2-this-war-of-mine/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #3 — Super Smash Broshttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-super-smash-bros http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-super-smash-bros#commentsTue, 06 Jan 2015 20:18:14 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11269For #3 we turn to what has arguably become one of the best selling games of 2014, a launch pad for the Amiibo and a celebration of all things Nintendo. #3: Super Smash Bros Super Smash Bros continues the series’ tradition of bringing in as many Nintendo elements as possible into one game. From characters, [...]

For #3 we turn to what has arguably become one of the best selling games of 2014, a launch pad for the Amiibo and a celebration of all things Nintendo.

#3: Super Smash Bros

Super Smash Bros continues the series’ tradition of bringing in as many Nintendo elements as possible into one game. From characters, trophies, items, stages and even music, if you were at any point in the last 20 years a Nintendo fan, there will be something here for you.

The lineup of characters is both old and new with characters like Pac-Man and Duck Hunt joining the fray. What’s very impressive about Smash is how despite featuring one of the most simplistic control schemes for any fighting game, there is depth to how each character behaviors. From Captain Falcon’s long range and high speed, to the slow and powerhouse attacks of King Dedede. For competitive players, expect to spend a lot of time going through the character list learning how everyone plays.

It’s impossible to not find one character that you will enjoy playing as. Smash Bros for the Wii-U also has a lot of different ways to play including classic mode which features a difficulty slider like Kid Icarus, themed events, multiplayer and a lot more. And there are just as many rewards with the game’s treasure trove of trophies and new music to find which should put a smile on any classic gamers’ face.

And that ultimately is what makes the Smash Bros series so popular — That it is a celebration of all things Nintendo. There are only a few problems that I had with it, the new Smash Tour mode isn’t as good as the Smash Run mode on the 3DS and the classic mode isn’t a good substitute for the Subspace Emissary single player campaign.

While new features like 8 player matches and the Amiibo functionality balance things out. The Amiibos in particular have become a massive success for Nintendo and part of that has been their usage with Super Smash Bros, but we’ll save talking about them for another time.

Super Smash Bros since its release has become one of the best selling games of 2014 and one of the best for the Wii-U which needed more system sellers in its library. And thanks to online play, it’s now the perfect game for groups and solo players.

Up next we return to the Indie market with my #2 pick which took a depressing setting and made an engaging game out of it.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-super-smash-bros/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #4 — Dungeon of the Endlesshttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-4-dungeon-of-the-endless http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-4-dungeon-of-the-endless#commentsMon, 05 Jan 2015 20:14:23 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11213With #4 we have another Indie title that went with a unique premise and one of the most interesting game designs I’ve seen. By combining tower defense and rogue-like design, Dungeon of the Endless from Amplitude Studios stood out with an almost chocolate and peanut butter like game design. #4 — Dungeon of the Endless Dungeon of [...]

With #4 we have another Indie title that went with a unique premise and one of the most interesting game designs I’ve seen. By combining tower defense and rogue-like design, Dungeon of the Endless from Amplitude Studios stood out with an almost chocolate and peanut butter like game design.

#4 — Dungeon of the Endless

Dungeon of the Endless by Amplitude Studios is another game set in their Endless Space Universe. The premise was that you had to guide survivors from a crashed ship through an underground dungeon to safety.

The hook was that the game was part rogue-like and tower defense in how you had to approach challenges. Each floor of the dungeon was randomly generated with enemies, traps and potential party members different each time you played. The game was pseudo turn based as opening a door would move time forward and cause enemy waves to spawn in unlit rooms. You were able to set up modules as your defense in lit rooms and this is where the tower defense gameplay came in.

You had to constantly weigh your actions and how far you were willing to go on each floor to improve your characters and modules vs. getting to the next floor alive. Each party member had a back-story and unique skills to use and were like hero units in a strategy game.

What made Dungeon of the Endless tough was the rogue-like atmosphere of the fact that every party member only had one life and the game was very punishing. I still haven’t beaten the full game yet on the “easy” setting. But the game does give you a lot of incentive to keep going at it with the use of different game mode variants to unlock and try along with finding new party members to unlock from the start of play.

This also gives the developers a lot of leeway in adding new content as the base foundation of the game is strong. As I said in my review, the big problem at the moment with Dungeon of the Endless is how the game’s randomness has too much of an effect on whether or not you will win which goes against the tower defense gameplay. It doesn’t matter how great you are at building defenses when poor luck forces you to try and defend from too many unlit rooms and you are just swarmed to death.

But what makes Dungeon of the Endless a great game and why it’s on the list is that the unique game mechanics are something that we haven’t seen before and it does manage to combine what works from rogue-likes and tower defense games into one title.

And with that, we’re down to the top three and they couldn’t be farther apart from each other in terms of design. Tomorrow we have the newest game in one of the most popular series and the definition of a system seller.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-4-dungeon-of-the-endless/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #5 — Blackwell Epiphanyhttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-5-blackwell-epiphany http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-5-blackwell-epiphany#commentsThu, 01 Jan 2015 19:58:02 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11212#5 takes us back to the adventure genre with the end of the Blackwell series. Despite its retro look and feel, smart writing and design are hallmarks of the series. #5 Blackwell Epiphany Blackwell Epiphany is the fifth game in the Blackwell series from Wadjet Eye Games where spirit medium Roseangela and ghost Joey have [...]

#5 takes us back to the adventure genre with the end of the Blackwell series. Despite its retro look and feel, smart writing and design are hallmarks of the series.

#5 Blackwell Epiphany

Blackwell Epiphany is the fifth game in the Blackwell series from Wadjet Eye Games where spirit medium Roseangela and ghost Joey have to solve mysteries and help the dead pass on to the next world.

The series has kept with a retro look that still is catching thanks to high quality art. One of the high points would have to be the voice acting by Rebecca Whittaker and Abe Goldfarb who voiced the title characters. The design of the Blackwell series feels like a modern take on old school adventure design with puzzles and various items to find to help you solve the case.

Over the course of the series, writer/game designer Dave Gilbert managed to tell stories that were both personal to the characters while hinting at the larger mysteries of the setting. With #5, the game closes the book on the characters while providing one final mystery to solve.

For me, the Blackwell series is one of the few adventure games that I really enjoyed not just for the puzzles but for the story itself and it’s rare to be able to play through a series with a definitive end to it. I wish I could talk more about the great moments in the series but that would take things into spoiler territory. If you enjoy adventure games for their puzzles as much as their story, definitely check out the Blackwell series and whatever comes next from Wadjet Eye Games.

Up next, #4 is another Indie game that went for a unique take on the rogue-like genre.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-5-blackwell-epiphany/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #6 — Shovel Knighthttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-6-shovel-knight http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-6-shovel-knight#commentsWed, 31 Dec 2014 19:50:13 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11189#6 this year is a mix of old and new: We have a new developer making a classic game using the new methods of crowd-funding to do so. Shovel Knight may not look all that impressive from the outside but it is definitely a love letter to old school game design and an amazing game [...]

#6 this year is a mix of old and new: We have a new developer making a classic game using the new methods of crowd-funding to do so. Shovel Knight may not look all that impressive from the outside but it is definitely a love letter to old school game design and an amazing game to boot.

#6: Shovel Knight

The simplest way to describe Shovel Knight would be if someone found a long lost NES game and released it today. From graphics, storytelling and gameplay, everything feels straight out of the late 80s. But if you look closer at it, you’ll find modern sensibilities built into the design like checkpoints and in game saves.

While the level designs definitely emulate classic games like Mega Man, Ducktales and more, everything still is original to Shovel Knight. And the fact that the developers were able to emulate without copying is a testament to the level of craftsmanship that Yacht Club Games have.

If you want an example of great level design to examine, Shovel Knight takes it with the variety of enemies and situations, yet each level was unique. When developing old school games, part of the challenge is trying to figure out what elements to bring back and which ones to avoid and Shovel Knight was smartly designed on this front.

Too often game developers make things hard for the sake of hard or use arbitrary design considerations that worked back then. But Yacht Club Games kept things under control and struck a balance of keeping things from getting too hard. And for gamers who do want that added difficulty, there were plenty of additional modes and challenges hidden for them to attempt.

This was one of those games where it was hard to pinpoint any major issues unique to Shovel Knight and not those from the genre or time that it was designed for. As I said on my review, Shovel Knight is somewhat short but each level was again very well done.

In a year of failed kickstarters and early access titles, Shovel Knight was one of the few crowd-funded games released this year to meet expectations and they are still not done working on it. More content should be coming soon with playable boss characters and I do hope that we see a sequel at some point.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-6-shovel-knight/feed0Game Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #7 — Alien Isolationhttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-7-alien-isolation http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-7-alien-isolation#commentsTue, 30 Dec 2014 09:38:08 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11188#7 is another licensed IP game and one that everyone was expecting to fail. After the disaster of Alien Colonial Marine, the franchise seemed dead but Alien Isolation not only managed to revive it but also horror for AAA developers as well. #7: Alien Isolation Alien Isolation is the AAA genre’s first attempt at real [...]

#7 is another licensed IP game and one that everyone was expecting to fail. After the disaster of Alien Colonial Marine, the franchise seemed dead but Alien Isolation not only managed to revive it but also horror for AAA developers as well.

#7: Alien Isolation

Alien Isolation is the AAA genre’s first attempt at real horror in a long time. Putting the player in the shoes of Amanda Ripley and forced to explore the ruined remains of a space station while a Xenomorph is after her.

This is the only AAA game released this year that went with a protagonist not centered around combat. While there are weapons and tools to use, combat should be avoided at all cost as to not alert the xenomorph to your presence.

Speaking of the Xenomorph, we finally have a horror game with a true alpha antagonist who actively tracks and hunts the player down and that alone gets it on this list. While the alien is guided by the unseen hands of the game designer, it will hunt for you and make sure that you are never considered safe.

I also have to give a shout out to the environmental detail as the game has a great aesthetic invoking that lived in dirty future of the original movie. It reminds me a lot of the Bioshock series in how so much of what’s going on is written into the environment.

There are only a few problems with Alien Isolation stemming from pacing. The game’s pace is very slow and there doesn’t appear to be enough content to keep the player going. After one run in and hide and seek with the alien, you will have seen the main hook of the game but still have hours to go. Playing as Ripley, she felt very bulky and tank like and the stealth elements could have been done a bit better. For instance, being able to actually hide around corners and behind objects instead of playing a guessing game as to whether you are safe or not.

But despite those issues, Alien Isolation is one of the best horror games released from either the AAA or Indie markets. I don’t know if there is enough here to do a sequel with the Alien IP but I do hope that developers were taking notes on how effective horror can be when you are dealing with something that isn’t locked to scripted events.

Up next we have a game that went the old school route with a modern twist.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-7-alien-isolation/feed0Game Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #8 Shadows of Mordorhttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-8-shadows-of-mordor http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-8-shadows-of-mordor#commentsMon, 29 Dec 2014 19:24:54 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11187For #8 we have the first of two very successful games based on IPs in 2014 starting with Shadow of Mordor that managed to take a world that we all know and flip it on its head both design and story wise. #8: Shadow of Mordor: Shadows of Mordor plays out similar to Assassin’s Creed. [...]

For #8 we have the first of two very successful games based on IPs in 2014 starting with Shadow of Mordor that managed to take a world that we all know and flip it on its head both design and story wise.

#8: Shadow of Mordor:

Shadows of Mordor plays out similar to Assassin’s Creed. You have an open world, missions to do and a very acrobatic main character. However the unique twist of the game draws similarities to Crackdown.

The army of Uruks that you have to take out is created from procedurally generated enemies complete with unique strengths and weaknesses which the developers dubbed “the nemesis system.” Your job is to find out what they are and then exploit them to take out Sauron’s army one by one. This system works brilliantly at providing the player with ever changing enemies to fight and prevents them from relying too heavily on one strategy.

Enemies will also react on their own as the uruks try to out maneuver each other in terms of ranking and power. This further gives you the ability to manipulate the army and forces of Sauron and is just such a great system. It’s such a bad-ass moment to stalk a captain and learn his weakness to be able to take him out in one shot.

The story takes place at different times of The Lord of the Rings universe while having some major characters from the series appear. But really, the gameplay is what makes Shadows of Mordor so compelling and why it is on the list. Unlike Assassin’s Creed you don’t start out as an immediate bad ass and you have to work your way up the skill trees to attain the abilities needed to become walking death.

The main reason why I’m not listing it higher is that while the mechanics are great, Shadow of Mordor has a very slow burn to get to the good stuff. It’s going to take a bit before you get enough skill points and rankings to unlock important skills. Combat was somewhat basic and relied a lot on basic attacks and felt like it was copying more of Arkham City instead of a unique system.

And outside of hunting down Uruks, the rest of the game feels somewhat flat which is in part due to the lackluster main character trying to be brooding throughout the story. But still, applying such a brilliant system to a licensed game is no small achievement and the developers deserve praise for elevating the game so much because of it. Hopefully the nemesis system will be something adopted by other developers in their open world titles to give them some much needed life.

Up next we turn to another licensed game that instead of going for action, when all in for horror.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-8-shadows-of-mordor/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #9 — The Wolf Among Ushttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-9-the-wolf-among-us http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-9-the-wolf-among-us#commentsWed, 24 Dec 2014 09:45:18 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11180Telltale Games have come a long way since the days of making Texas Hold Em styled games and light hearted adventure titles. Today, they are one of the premiere developers for focusing on narrative in adventure games. For #9 this year, we have the next game following the hit of The Walking Dead. #9 — [...]

]]> Telltale Games have come a long way since the days of making Texas Hold Em styled games and light hearted adventure titles. Today, they are one of the premiere developers for focusing on narrative in adventure games. For #9 this year, we have the next game following the hit of The Walking Dead.

#9 — The Wolf Among Us

The Wolf Among us is based on the Fables graphic novel series and takes place as a prequel to the events there. Continuing Telltale’s track record, the game is largely focused on the story with an absence of gameplay. One of the parts that I liked about The Wolf Among Us was that you played as Bigby Wolf who was not your regular adventure game character.

He was very much a take charge character and depending on how you played him, also a huge jerk. Part of the charm of the game was on keeping or losing control as Bigby tried to maintain order in Fabletown. Like The Walking Dead, The Wolf Among Us was definitely a mature game with some of the most violent fights we’ve seen from Telltale.

But not everything was great here. Despite the five episode season, the quality was all over the place with the second episode appeared rushed. Despite the detective and noir theme to it, there was very little in terms of solving crimes and this became less and less as the season continued. The finale had one of the most impressive fights but also one of the weakest ways for your choices to matter and the story never felt like it was personalized based on what I did.

Major events were going to happen regardless of my actions and it never felt like I was moving the story forward through my choices. And without any gameplay to back it up, The Wolf Among Us was a very passive experience indicative of Telltale’s style lately.

And I wish that I could say more about The Wolf Among Us but despite the five episode season there just isn’t more to talk about which is part of the problem. Playing through Tales From the Borderlands has me worried that I’ll be saying the same thing about it in a few months.

Up next we have the first of two other successful games based on popular IPs.

]]>http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-9-the-wolf-among-us/feed0Game-Wisdom’s Best of 2014 #10 — Hearthstonehttp://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-10-hearthstone http://game-wisdom.com/series/game-wisdoms-best-of-2014-10-hearthstone#commentsTue, 23 Dec 2014 18:42:33 +0000Josh Bycerhttp://game-wisdom.com/?p=11178For #10 this year it is a game that I constantly swing between loving and hating and one that podcast listeners should have an idea about. But despite my mood swings, I can’t deny the amazing game design present. #10: Hearthstone It’s amazing how Hearthstone started out as a passing idea from Blizzard to become [...]

For #10 this year it is a game that I constantly swing between loving and hating and one that podcast listeners should have an idea about. But despite my mood swings, I can’t deny the amazing game design present.

#10: Hearthstone

It’s amazing how Hearthstone started out as a passing idea from Blizzard to become one of their most popular titles since World of Warcraft. Hearthstone combined both a flexible F2P model while simplifying the complexity and learning curve of CCG design to create a game that has taken over some of my friend’s lives.

The genius of the game is how the different classes really do create different viable strategies and there never are enough spots in your deck for all the cards you want, all the more worst by the recent expansion that added in over 100 extra cards. If Chris Gardiner was writing this, I’m sure he could post a few thousand words on just how much there is to love about the class design.

Hearthstone’s appeal has managed to transcend both casual and hardcore players and is one of the quickest games I’ve seen adopted by the competitive community. It hasn’t even been a year yet and we’ve seen multiple tournaments, how-to guides and two expansions from Blizzard.

So I’m sure you’re wondering why I’m not rating it higher and the reason has to do with the fact that for me, there isn’t enough of a hook to play it constantly. I’m not a competitive player by trade and the arena has no interest to me. As I’ve written multiple times, Hearthstone has a major problem in terms of trying to improve at it and the game really is weighed heavily towards the pay to win side thanks to the popularity of net decks or being able to find competitive ranked decks and buy them.

I know that defenders will say that skill ultimately beats out money; however when you’re dealing with CCG design luck is a huge factor. And the number of great cards in your deck will definitely stack the odds in your favor compared to someone who only has starter cards or bad luck with booster decks. The Naxx expansion that added in single player focused challenges for cards is more up my alley and I would prefer more things to work towards via playing like challenges or rewards.

Again, I’m not a competitive player so just playing Hearthstone for rank purposes doesn’t interest me and maybe that lack of progression is why I took to Gems of War and Marvel Puzzle Quest compared to it where in those games I can work towards goals and improving my strategies. But it stands as a testament to Blizzard’s game design and polish that even though I do not love Hearthstone, I still have to put it on my top ten list.